NJ State Lawmakers Introduce Copy Machine Law

CBS News broke the story about how common digital copiers have hard drives that retain everything they've copied -- sometimes sensitive information that can be retrieved by anyone from the hard drives.

CBS News broke the story about how common digital copiers have hard drives that retain everything they've copied -- sometimes sensitive information that can be retrieved by anyone from the hard drives.

CBS

Two New Jersey state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require all hard drives on copy machines be wiped clean to protect the sensitive data retained on them.

Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex) are introducing the bill in the State Assembly today and Senate on Monday.

"In addition to the serious threat of identity theft, consumers are also vulnerable to serious social repercussions posed by sensitive medical records or police documents," Greenstein said in a press release announcing the bill. "There's a simple way to eliminate these risks and we need to make sure it's instituted."

The draft includes penalties for violations of the bill that start at $10,000 for the first offense and up to $20,000 for each additional offense.

The state lawmakers are also introducing a resolution, "urging Congress to enact similar legislation at the federal level that would require the hard drives of all digital copy machines sold or leased in the United States to be wiped clean."